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Ancient stone Squamish artifact bowls over SFU researchers

1,600-year-old relic seen as significant because it allows for radiocarbon dating

A 1,600-year-old stone bowl discovered by geoscientist Pierre Friele along the Squamish River is similar to those used by early aboriginal cultures in California and the American southwest.

Photograph by: Gagandeep Ghuma
, Vancouver Sun

The discovery of an ancient stone bowl in Squamish may shed some light on the lives and ceremonies of the Coast Salish peoples who once lived on the banks of the Squamish River.

The bowl, carved out of volcanic rock and revealed to be about 1,600 years old, is similar to those used by early aboriginal cultures in California and the American southwest, said Rudy Reimer, professor of first nations studies and archaeology at Simon Fraser University. In the north, such vessels are often closely tied to ceremony and ritual.

Reimer said he suspects the bowl would have been part of ancient ceremonies to predict and pay homage to returning salmon in the Squamish River.

“Archeologically speaking, it helps confirm previous interpretations of the role of these bowls as ceremonial implements,” Reimer said. “It validates what we know from Squamish Nation oral history.”

The bowl’s discovery was first reported in April by the Squamish Reporter newspaper.

The artifact is highly significant, Reimer said, because ancient organic material present inside the bowl allows for radiocarbon dating. It’s the third or fourth stone bowl to be found in B.C. with a direct radiocarbon link. The site that yielded the discovery also included an ancient fire pit.

Pierre Friele, a Squamish-based geoscientist, stumbled upon the bowl while examining sediments along the riverbank with an SFU graduate student.

“I know an archeological site when I see one,” said Friele, who has worked on numerous archeological sites, such as the ancient pit house village at Keatley Creek near Lillooet. “I noted fire reddening in the sediments indicating an old hearth and I began poking around.”

He uncovered the bowl three metres underground. Reimer said the artifact may have been designed to resemble an animal, but it hadn’t been finished.

“The design elements lead me to believe it looks like a bird,” he said. “It was about three-quarters of the way being done. There’s a round face in the front, two wings and tail feathers at the back. [I] immediately thought of an owl based on other bowls — finished ones — with owl elements designed on them.”

Reimer noted the bowl was found at a prime fishing spot along the Squamish River that would likely have been densely populated nearly 2,000 years ago. Back then, settlements containing up to a dozen longhouses would have dotted the riverbanks, he said, separated by distances as short as a kilometre. The village where the artifacts were found may have had hundreds of people living in the immediate vicinity.

Archeological records confirm the Coast Salish peoples, ancestors of the Squamish First Nation, called the northwest home for thousands of years.

“The oldest site in Squamish territory, located in Howe Sound, is at least 9,000 years old,” Reimer said. “There were [arrowheads] and cutting tools on the site, as well as scrapers and a wide range of mammal and fish bones. We have archeological evidence of [similar sites] throughout the territory. It shows continuous occupation.”

The bowl may eventually be displayed at the Squamish Lillooet Cultural Centre, according to Squamish Nation Chief Ian Campbell.

Minor work took place on the site since the discovery, Reimer said, but there are no plans to mount a major archeological excavation to determine the full extent of the village grounds.

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